Kearney awarded USTFCCCA National Scholar Track Athlete of the Year; 20 Buffs named All-Academic
NEW ORLEANS, La. (July 23, 2021) – Milligan University graduate student Emily Kearney was named the NAIA Women’s Outdoor National Scholar Track Athlete of the Year by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), as the Buffs reeled in a multitude of year-end USTFCCCA academic awards on Thursday.
NEW ORLEANS, La. (July 23, 2021) – Milligan University graduate student Emily Kearney was named the NAIA Women's Outdoor National Scholar Track Athlete of the Year by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), as the Buffs reeled in a multitude of year-end USTFCCCA academic awards on Thursday.
Kearney adds USTFCCCA Scholar Track Athlete of the Year honors to USTFCCCA Women's Track Athlete of the Year, Most Outstanding Performer at the 2021 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Appalachian Athletic Conference Runner of the Year and CoSIDA Academic All-District awards. She's the first Milligan athlete to take home a USTFCCCA National Scholar Track Athlete of the Year honors, and she previously earned this award in 2019 while an undergraduate student at SCAD Atlanta.
Kearney captured NAIA national titles in the 5k and 10k and set all-time NAIA records in the 5k (15:39.65) and 10k (33:09.65) during the regular season.
In the classroom, Kearney maintained a 4.0 grade point average while pursuing a Master of Arts in Humanities and completing one of the most prolific outdoor track and field seasons in NAIA history.
In addition to Kearney collecting one of the top individual awards, both Milligan men's and women's track and field programs were designated as All-Academic Teams and 20 student-athletes claimed All-Academic status.
The men's track teams posted a cumulative 3.29 GPA through the 2020-21 year, a mark that ranked 11th among award-winning teams in the NAIA.
The women's track squads recorded a 3.49 cumulative GPA, No. 20 in the NAIA.
Milligan's men's and women's cross country/track and field programs were honored by the USTFCCCA earlier this summer in the USTFCCCA NAIA Program of the Year standings. The Milligan women tied for third overall while the men finished seventh in the final standings.
A total of 20 Buffs, 10 men and 10 women, were named Track & Field All-Academic Athletes. To be named an All-Academic Athlete, a student-athlete must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.25 or higher and achieve an automatic or provisional qualifying mark (individual or relay event) during the 2020-21 indoor or 2021 outdoor seasons.
In total, Milligan's track and cross country programs collected four individual national championships, 19 All-American awards and six top-25 team championship finishes over the course of 2020-21.
USTFCCCA Men's All-Academic Athletes
Eli Baldy (Mechanical Engineering)
Andrew Burton (Computer Science)
Eli Cramer (Business Administration)
Jake Crow (Computer Science)
Evan Henson (Undecided)
Aaron Jones (Mechanical Engineering)
Alex Mortimer (Ministry)
Ethan Pfister (Business Administration)
Tim Thacker (Electrical Engineering)
Sam Wehner (Electrical Engineering)
USTFCCCA Women's All-Academic Athletes
Gracie Allen (Electrical Engineering)
Alyssa Bearzi (Marketing)
Avery DeWolf (Communications)
Caitlin Dominy (Biology)
Rebecca Glover (Psychology)
Emily Kearney (Master of Arts in Humanities)
Gabrielle Mardis (Child and Youth Development)
Bekah Owen (Graphic Design)
Kaelyn Slaughter (Mechanical Engineering)
Kiley Wood (Nursing)